Jürgen Klopp and the German Football Association (DFB) have reached an agreement in principle for him to become the new head coach of the national team, following a lengthy meeting in New York. The breakthrough came on Friday when DFB president Bernd Neuendorf and vice-president Hans-Joachim Watzke sat down with Klopp at a hotel near JFK Airport. After more than four hours of talks, both sides had settled the key terms of a contract that would run until the 2030 World Cup. The deal, viewed from Berlin as a swift and decisive move, would see Klopp succeed Julian Nagelsmann, who resigned after Germany’s penalty shoot-out defeat to Paraguay in the round of 32 at the 2026 tournament.

The agreement is conditional on Red Bull, Klopp’s employer since January 2025, agreeing to release him from his role as global head of football operations. Klopp’s contract with the energy-drink company runs until 2029, but German media reports indicate a clause allows him to depart if the DFB comes calling. Klopp himself has signalled confidence, telling Magenta TV that he expects his boss, Oliver Mintzlaff, “won’t stand in my way” and that “the ideal outcome is that everyone benefits, and Red Bull comes out of it cleanly.” The DFB statement confirmed that negotiations would resume next week, with both sides “confident that, subject to an agreement with Red Bull, the talks can be concluded successfully.”

The move comes amid a deep crisis in German football. The national team has now suffered three consecutive World Cup humiliations: group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022, followed by this summer’s elimination at the first knockout hurdle. Klopp, 59, has been the DFB’s preferred candidate since Nagelsmann’s departure. He left Liverpool in 2024 after a trophy-laden nine-year spell, citing exhaustion, but has since recharged while working as a television analyst in the United States. “I’ve got my full energy back, so I’m ready,” he said. His track record of rebuilding sides—at Mainz, Dortmund, and Liverpool—has made him, in the eyes of many German football observers, the natural choice to revive a faltering Mannschaft.

Should the Red Bull hurdle be cleared and the DFB’s supervisory board ratify the deal, Klopp’s first match in charge would be a Nations League fixture away to the Netherlands on 24 September, followed by a home game against Greece three days later. Serbia completes the group. The contract, reportedly worth slightly more than Nagelsmann’s salary, would take Klopp through Euro 2028 and the 2030 World Cup. His long-time assistant Pepijn Lijnders is expected to join the coaching staff. For a nation still smarting from its earliest-ever World Cup exit, the prospect of Klopp on the touchline offers a tangible path out of the wilderness.